


Brotherhood Evolution

by Moonheart13



Category: X-Men Evolution
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2018-09-24
Updated: 2018-09-25
Packaged: 2019-07-16 14:29:50
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 9,465
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16088003
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Moonheart13/pseuds/Moonheart13
Summary: "We're born alone. We die alone. Only through our love and friendship can we create the illusion for the moment that we are not alone." -Orson Welles





	1. Chapter 1

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Brotherhood Boarding House is officially open for business, Todd meets Badass McCoolPants, and our story begins.

The night had grown very cold, the howling wind helping to keep the temperature far below forty degrees. The teenager wrapped his arms tightly around his person, rocking back and forth. The small space he’d called home for the past couple days didn’t have all that much wiggle room, but it provided some sort of barrier.

“Mr. Tolanski.”

Todd gave a small grunt at the voice and opened his eyes a little. Through the cracks, he saw—

“Agh!” The teen flung himself back in complete terror. “You!”

The spectacled woman gave a rough sigh, her head tilted slightly back before straightening it to glare down at him. “Yes, it’s me, Tolanski. Now would you get out from under there?”

“Nu-uh!” Todd said with a shake of his head as he moved even further into his hiding place. “I’m safe here!”

“You’re living like a homeless person. A boy your age should not be living in a cemented tunnel.”

“Wh-why do you even care?” Todd asked shakily, keeping an eye on her as he leaned his back against the hard, curved wall. “Thought I wasn’t no good tah ya no more.”

“Indeed, you did foul up your mission at the Institute, but that does not mean I’m going to allow you to continue living this way.” Mystique knelt down so Todd could easily see her in the archway, still in her disguise as principal. “I have a place for you to live; rent-free.”

Todd’s eyes widened. “R-really? I don’ gotta pay?”

“I will take care of all of that. This home will be a place for mutants with nowhere else to turn; much like yourself.”

Todd glanced down at the bottom of the tunnel, noticing all the bugs skittering around at his feet. He was briefly tempted to eat a couple, but forced himself to focus on the situation at hand.

There was a pregnant pause as Todd mused over his situation.

Let’s see…live in a horrible, lonely ditch for the next few years or go with the scary lady to a place where he could sleep in a warm bed and have food guaranteed every day?

…as tempting as the ditch seemed compared to the scary lady, Todd glanced back up at the woman and with only the slightest hesitation, he said, “Ya got yerself a resident then, lady.”

***  

“ _This_ will be your new home, Mr. Tolanski,” Mystique stated firmly, dragging the teen in by his arm.

Once he was inside, Todd glanced around the boarding house, amazed by the sheer size of it. It wasn’t really fancy or anything, but boy, was it _big_! He could tell it had at least two floors, maybe even with a basement or attic.

He’d never lived in a place so huge before.

“’S’nice…” he muttered, still staring around.

“Glad you think so,” the shape-shifter said thickly as she let him go—or rather, threw him. “Go pick out your room.”

“Wait!” Todd struggled up to his feet and saw her back was to him. “Where ya goin’?”

“A little trip,” the woman answered as she continued out the door. “I’ll be back by tomorrow night. Make sure to get to school tomorrow and don’t do anything to get yourself into trouble.”

Todd frowned to himself as she slammed the door shut.

He was alone. Again.

Well, at least it was better than being around her.

***

The next night, Todd was sitting on the stairs, looking bored as ever. He idly watched a cockroach make its way down the stairs beside him. He allowed it to reach the very bottom before shooting his tongue out and bringing the bug into his mouth, eventually swallowing it before giving a sigh.

Suddenly, much to his relief, the door opened.

“There ya are!” Todd exclaimed as he saw the familiar blue-mutant. “Man, I’ve been sittin’ ‘round here half the day, bored outta mah—”

“Quiet, Toad,” Mystique snapped coldly and the frog-like mutant shut his mouth in fear of the fierceness in her eyes. “Now, I want you to welcome your new housemate.” She stepped aside and gestured to a young man Todd had never seen before. “This is Lance Alvers; codename, Avalanche.”

The guy had a dark, edgy look to him, his hands covered by fingerless black gloves and he wore a casual, smooth expression. He looked around Todd’s age, but definitely a little older. He very much reminded Todd of those guys who would stand behind the school building and get high or something.

From Todd’s perspective, he looked kinda cool.

“Hey,” the new guy said quietly, stuffing his hands in his pockets.

“Yo,” Todd said in reply, trying to lean into the stairs casually, but ended up bumping his head on the step above. “Oww…”

Mystique rolled her eyes before gesturing to him. “This is Todd Tolanski; codename, Toad.”

“Ya can jus’ call me Toad, yo,” Todd said as he rubbed his head before pulling himself upright and flinging his body over until he was directly in front of the other teen who flinched in obvious surprise before relaxing.

“You can call me Lance,” the young man stated. “What can you do? Is that hopping thing—”

“Yeah!” Todd exclaimed, feeling excited that someone this cool-looking was talking to him. “I can do that, I can make dis killer slime, and—” He stuck his tongue out, quickly hitting the very end of it on a spot near the doorway where Mystique was still standing (he ignored her grimace of disgust) before bringing his tongue back into his mouth. “—that.”

Lance watched Todd’s explanation of his powers with quiet curiosity. “That’s pretty cool.”

Todd couldn’t help the smile that crossed his face. He had no way of knowing if the other teen actually found it cool or not, but it was better than being made fun of or being beaten up. “Thanks. What can you do?”

A grin appeared on Lance’s face before he held out his hands and began to shake them slightly. Oddly enough, the rest of the house followed their lead. Todd shrieked a bit in fear at the sudden earthquake as Lance’s eyes rolled upward in concentration.

“Stop it, Mr. Alvers!” Mystique commanded.

Immediately, the shaking grew less and less as the rock-tumbler placed his hands down in slight exhaustion and looked back at the shape-shifter. “I wasn’t trying to—”

“Silence,” the woman stated stiffly. “For as long as you live here, you will do best to keep your powers under control.”

Lance looked upset by the order, Todd seeing his hands balling up into fists. However, the dark-haired teen managed to keep himself in check and instead glared softly at the ground.

“Now, I need to get back to the school tonight. I trust you will both continue to get settled?”

Todd and Lance found themselves glancing at each other before looking back at Mystique.

“Sure.”

“Whatevah.”

“Good,” Mystique said, narrowing her eyes slightly at the boys before heading out, shutting the door behind her.

Todd and Lance stood in an awkward silence for a few long moments before Todd suggested, “You’d bettah choose one of the good rooms upstairs before somebody else does.”

“Yeah,” Lance agreed as the two headed up the stairs, side by side. “How many people do you think are gonna be here?”

“I don’t know, man,” Todd said as he hopped over the last few steps. “Mystique didn’t tell me nothin’.”

“Yeah…is she…?”

“She’s always like that. I’d get used tah it.”


	2. Chapter 2

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The group adds a new member, a food fight breaks out, and our "heroes" don't know how to talk to girls.

“…so, what do ya think?”

“…I _hate_ it here.”

The two mutants stood side by side in the lunchroom, Lance with a dark look in his eyes and Todd looking bored out of his mind.

“Yeah, I kinda figured,” the latter said, scratching the back of his neck.

“I never thought I’d go back to school, at least considering how I leveled at least half of the last one,” Lance commented as he glanced around the room, not in the least bit impressed by the building nor the student body.

“Heh, yeah. That was pretty cool, yo.”

“Thanks.”

“Boys?”

They both flinched at the sudden voice and turned around to see Ms. Darkholme, her arms folded and eying them suspiciously through her glasses.

“Are you both behaving?” she asked—or rather, growled.

“Yeah, of course we are!” Lance stated, looking insulted. “Do you see any earthquakes—”

“Hush up! Do you want everyone to know what you are, Mr. Alvers?” the woman hissed.

Lance glared at the woman before glancing down at his shoes, despite how much he wanted to have the ceiling crash down on her.

“That’s what I thought,” the shape-shifter said before pointing past them. “Now, do you see that girl?”

The two followed her line of focus to see a girl with a white streak through her auburn hair, sitting all alone at a table.

“Who’s she?” Todd asked.

“Someone very important,” was the only answer the principal gave. “I want you two to befriend her.”

“Why?” Todd asked, looking skeptical before receiving a fierce glare and a pair of yellow eyes flashing at him for a moment. Then, he gave a nervous smile. “Right. Thanks fo’ the explanation.”

Lance glanced back at the girl, noticing the way she sat hunched over, her hair blocking most of her face, and how tightly she gripped her fork in one gloved hand, but did not eat. He frowned a bit and furrowed his brow before asking as he turned around, “But what if she doesn’t want to be our—hey, where’d she go?”

Sure enough, the woman had disappeared without a trace, leaving the two boys to stare dumbly at the place she had been.

“Man, I hate when she does that!” Todd stated with a shiver. “Creeps me out, yo!”

Lance glanced back at the girl before giving a shrug. “Well, might as well do what she says.”

“Do ya think she’ll like us?” Todd asked as the two headed over to grab their lunch trays.

“I doubt it,” Lance replied as he took a tray and put it in front of the lunch lady. “She doesn’t look the friendliest.”

“Yeah, I know what ya mean,” Todd said as the lunch lady dropped the food unceremoniously onto their trays and the two made their way toward the table the girl was seated at.

When they were only a few feet away, the girl glanced up, her icy, grey eyes slightly narrowed in suspicion. “Yes?” she asked, her voice indicating that she would much rather be doing something else other than giving the two boys the time of day.

“Uhh, we was, uhh…” Todd floundered before settling on stepping a little behind Lance as the girl’s expression was scaring him a little bit.

“We wanted to know if we could sit here,” Lance spoke up, trying to sound polite.

“…it’s a free country,” was the only response the girl gave as she turned back down to her food.

Lance and Todd exchanged a similar glance before they each sat down.

“So…” Lance started to say after a few minutes of silence, “Where are you from?”

“None of your business.”

Todd and Lance quickly glanced at each other with their eyes before looking back at the girl.

“Okay…” the rock-tumbler muttered as he poked his food with his fork, a little disturbed by the way it jiggled…was that supposed to be chicken?

“What’s yer name?” Todd asked suddenly. “I’m Todd an’ this guy is Lance.”

“…Rogue.”

“Rogue? Why are you called—”

“Ah just _am_ , okay?” the girl defended herself stiffly, glaring at them. “Why are you two even sittin’ here in the first place?”

“Whoa! Jeez, we was jus’ tryin’ tah make some convers—”

“Well, maybe Ah don’t _want_ to make any conversation with you,” Rogue shot back.

“Well, pardon us, then!” Lance snapped, looking shocked and angry. “We’re just trying to be nice!”

“Do Ah _look_ like Ah care?” the girl replied with a face that clearly stated her point.

Lance glared a bit before looking back down at his food. Beside him, Todd looked at his new friend with a hint of empathy before glancing back at the girl. Rogue gave him a dark glare and he automatically looked down at his food as well, knowing he wouldn’t have any better luck than Lance did at talking to her.

Suddenly, there was a gasp from a table nearby and all heads turned to look at Duncan Matthews who currently had food all over him. Following his line of sight was an over-weight teen lying on his back, covered in food as well.

“Bad move, Blob-boy,” the jock declared as he and his goons began to advance on the blond, who was trying to get to his feet, but kept slipping against the food strewn on the ground around him.

Soon, the whole room was laughing at the guy, all somehow finding it hilarious that he couldn’t get up.

Todd watched the fat teen react to the obnoxious laughter and saw the rage beginning to show on his face before the frog-like mutant gave a grin.

This should be interesting.

Not a second after the thought passed through Todd’s mind, the over-weight teen finally got up and…basically had a fit.

Food was soon being thrown everywhere, not only by the blond, but some of the students had joined in as well, since who could resist a food fight?

Todd managed to duck in time before a cupcake hit him—only to have it hit Lance instead. The rock-tumbler growled at him as Todd gave a shrug and a nervous chuckle before the two had to duck again, a tray sailing over their heads.

When he looked back up, Todd saw that Rogue had vanished and they were alone at the table. Todd glanced over at the X-Men table and saw Kitty, that girl Lance had told him about, phase right through the floor before looking back at Lance.

“I don’ know ‘bout chu, yo, but that Pryde chick has got the right idea. I’m gettin’ outta here!”

“Right behind you,” Lance grunted as the two made a break for it and ran out the door to the hallway, neither noticing the goth girl against the lockers.

 ***

Todd sat in front of the television, flipping through the channels in a bored fashion. “Man, they ain’t got _nothin’_ on.”

He’d been pretty much raised on television, since his mother wasn’t home when he still lived with her as a little boy, and the numerous foster homes he was placed in didn’t have anyone who _really_ cared enough to acknowledge his presence. It seemed most of what he’d learned in life, he’d learned from watching TV.

“Isn’t the game on?” Lance asked as he walked in, munching on a few crackers from a box he’d found in one of the cupboards.

“Nah, that’s fo’ tomarra night,” Todd replied, still flipping through. “Wish we got bettah channels here.”

“I know,” Lance said, sitting down in one of the chairs. “The last place I lived, we had over a thousand channels.”

“An’ still nothin’ tah watch?”

“Yep.”

Suddenly, they heard the door swing open and they both felt a familiar chill travel up their spines. A chill that was becoming all too familiar. The two immediately scrambled into the main hallway to see, as they had already suspected, Mystique standing there, her usual scowl plastered on her face. What was unusual was the very large teen next to her.

He looked pretty scary, the kind of guy you probably wouldn’t want to be cornered by in a dark alleyway. His head was down as glanced off a bit to the side.

“This is Fred Dukes,” Mystique stated firmly, gesturing to the boy next to her. “He is a new student at Bayville High School. I assume you must have seen him earlier today.”

“Wait a minute,” Todd said as he hopped a bit closer to get a good look at the new mutant. “You the guy who was tearin’ shit up in the lunchroom today?”

The blond looked down at him, looking embarrassed before switching to a defensive stance. “Yeah, that was me. You wanna make somethin’ outta it?”

“Dude, that was wicked!”

Fred blinked in surprise, not sure how to respond.

“Man, that food fight you started was hilarious! I’ve never seen a whole lunchroom go that crazy!” Todd continued before Lance added, “Yeah, and I thought _I_ could really shake things up! You’re a powerhouse, dude.”

Freddy found himself smiling a bit at the compliments, amazed that he wasn’t being laughed at or being mocked. “Thanks. Uhh…you can call me the Blob.”

“The Blob?” Lance echoed.

“It was my stage name,” Fred explained.

“You in show business, yo?” Todd inquired, tilting his head to the side.

“Was,” Fred corrected him. “Long story. But that’s what they called me. The Immovable Blob.”

“And now that shall be your codename,” Mystique spoke up. “And this shall be your new home and these are your teammates.”

“Teammates?” Lance asked, looked at her with a confused, slightly suspicious expression. “What are you—”

“I will discuss all that much later,” the shape-shifter decided as she moved past Freddy and towards the door. “For now, stay aware and get used to one another. Oh, and try to stay out of trouble. I’m busy enough as it is without worrying about all of you causing a ruckus.” With that, she turned into a raven in the blink of an eye and flew off into the night.

The three watched her leave until she had faded into the darkness before Lance inquired, “Teammates? What does that even mean? I thought she was just giving us a place to stay.”

“Yeah, me too,” Fred agreed, scratching his head.

“Maybe it’s gotta do wit’ them x-geeks?” Todd suggested. “She had me try to investigate their place before I moved intah here.”

“Yeah...” Lance scoffed. “So much for thinking someone was finally being charitable towards people like us. I mean, what does she expect us to do? Fight them?”

“I hope so,” Fred said, cracking his knuckles slightly. “I’d be happy to break a few skulls.”

Todd laughed hard at that and just as Freddy could feel a familiar anger prickling through him at the sound of laughter, the younger teen surprised him by hopping next to him and jabbing him in the stomach with his elbow. “I like yer style, bro!”


	3. Chapter 3

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mystique has no idea how to talk to children, Magneto is very vague, and the infamous speedster joins the home team.

“Mr. Tolanski, Mr. Alvers, and Mr. Dukes. Report to my office immediately.”

Lance developed a pained look on his face as he stood up from his desk (all the other students taking that moment to ‘ooh’ teasingly at him) and walked out.

He didn’t know what that freaky lady wanted from them now, but he had hopes that her last words about their team might be the focus today.

The idea of having a “team” had stayed in the back of his mind for the past few days, making him question whether or not he should have taken Mystique’s offer. Had he sold his life away to this woman? Agreed to some full scale plan? Really, all the codenames had felt like some weird joke. Or like their gang names. Not that Lance had ever been in a gang or anything.

Okay, maybe one, but it was only a week.

When Lance entered the outside of the principal’s office, he halted for a moment.

A pair of grey, gothic eyes glared back at him from a nearby chair.

Peachy keen.

“Hey,” he greeted the girl as he headed more into the room.

Rogue said nothing to him, but her eyes stayed trained on him, as though she was waiting for him to suddenly attack her.

“Okay, then,” Lance mumbled as he headed over to a nearby counter and leaned against it, folding his arms.

An awkward, annoying silence followed before the door opened once more.

“I’m serious, yo! He jus’ kept dronin’ on an’ on until one of the kids hit ‘im wit’ a paper airplane an’ he didn’t even blink!”

Surprisingly, Lance felt himself relax a bit at the sight of Todd and their newest housemate, Freddy, come in. Over the past few days, they three had gotten to talking. Not a lot, mind you, but enough that he considered them trustworthy acquaintances. And they gave him some people to hang around in case those “x-geeks”, as Todd referred to them, decided to pick a fight with him.

“That sounds kinda silly, Toad,” Fred said in reply before noticing Lance. “Oh, hey, Lance. Do you know what we’re doin’ in here?”

The teen gave a shrug. “No idea. I’ve been on my best behavior since I got here.”

“Maybe she wants tah make sure it stays that way?” Todd suggested, hopping over to a seat next to Rogue’s.

The girl glanced over at him, but quickly looked down at the floor, not even bothering to cast a look up at Fred. The over-weight teen walked past her, his eyes falling on her for just a moment before heading over to his own counter and Lance knew why.

Freddy had told them that Rogue had ended up blasting him with her eyes (technically with Summers’ power) for some reason. He didn’t explain what happened, but the boys didn’t press him. After all, it wasn’t really any of their business.

“Who knows?” Lance replied to Todd with a shrug and the room was quiet for a while.

Minutes passed and people came in and out of the office to retrieve files and such, nobody even trying to talk to the strange group.

Todd kept glancing over at Rogue as he squatted in his chair, taking the moment to actually _look_ at her. It should come as no real surprise that, although her grim expression and bad attitude were a little terrifying, she was quite attractive. It occurred to the toad-like mutant that if she were to ever smile, she could probably be considered beautiful or, at the very least, pretty.

He smiled at the thought, despite how the girl turned away from him in obvious dislike. Luckily, Todd was used to rejection from any girl so he didn’t allow it to bring his mood down.

Freddy brought out an old paddleball he’d found in his room at the boarding house the other night and used it to entertain himself, while Lance stood near, curiously watching the goth girl.

Believe it or not, the rock-tumbler did very much want to get to know the girl because she seemed like them.

Rejected, abandoned, lonely…really, it made sense that she should be their friend.

Still, Rogue didn’t seem to want anything to do with the boys. From the incident with Freddy to her constant looks of death toward any of them in the hallways, no progress had been made. Lance had tried to figure out why Mystique wanted him and Todd to befriend her but couldn’t come up with a specific reason. He’d considered the similarities, of course, but there _had_ to be more to it than just being a loner. After all, if she was to join the team, wouldn’t she have brought Rogue to the boarding house? Or did she already have a family?

There was some sort of connection, he knew, but the answer was—

“Rogue,” a voice said, making Lance slightly flinch as he looked up to see the principal holding her door open.

The goth girl immediately stood, shuffling past the boys and into the office.

“I’ll deal with you three in a few minutes,” Ms. Darkholme stated firmly before shutting the door.

“…well, she seems to be in a good mood,” Lance mumbled, the other two boys exchanging an uneasy look.

 ***

About fifteen minutes passed before the principal’s door finally opened and Rogue stepped out. She walked passed the boys, her head down as she headed into the hallway.

“Boys,” Ms. Darkholme stated from her office.

The three glanced at one another before walking into her office.

“Close the door,” she said and Fred, the last one in, did so.

The woman stood up before transforming into her true form, appearing more comfortable in her blue skin and fiery red hair.

“So, uhh…” Todd started to ask, toeing the ground with his foot awkwardly. “Why’re we here, yo?”

“I wanted to inform you all that you will have a new teammate before the night is over.”

Lance raised an eyebrow. “That’s it? Why couldn’t you have just—”

“This housemate is very important to your group,” she interrupted him, standing directly in front of him. “I want you to make him feel welcome.”

“Why?” Lance questioned while Todd and Fred stared at him like he was suicidal for asking.

“…I am not in that position to tell,” the woman said as she moved back behind her desk.

“But—”

“Mr. Alvers, you are not permitted to question me when I give you orders,” she growled, her yellow eyes glowing fiercely. “Are we understood?”

Todd gulped as he imagined Lance going off the rails with his powers, but much to his surprise, the teenager merely dug his nails into his palms, saying, his voice thick with obvious dislike as he slightly mocked her voice, “Oh, yes. We’re understood.”

“Good,” Mystique stated as she transformed back into her principal guise and said, “Now all of you head back to class and try to clean the place up a bit when you get home.”

The boys all nodded reluctantly before leaving the room. Once they were in the hall, Lance let out a frustrated, yet stifled yell as he slammed his fist into one of the lockers.

“God, I _hate_ her!” he barked.

“Yo, man, she’s all we got right now,” Todd pointed out, hoping Lance wasn’t about to unleash his fury onto him.

Lance breathed harshly for a few moments before snarling, “If I knew I wouldn’t land myself in a jail cell, I’d—I’d…”

“Fix her wagon?” Fred suggested.

“…yeah, sure,” Lance agreed vaguely, thunking his head against the metal.

 ***

The world was dark, the streets quiet. The only noises the teenager could hear were the motor in the car and his own breathing. He stealthily glanced over at the man next to him who hadn’t said one word since they’d gotten in the car.

And, of course, Pietro Maximoff could neither sit still nor shut up for a long amount of time.

“So, where exactly are you taking me?” he asked, fidgeting in his seat.

…no answer.

“Sounds _great_ ,” Pietro said sarcastically.

“You will learn in due time,” the man said, a slight edge to his voice.

Pietro sighed loudly, leaning back in his seat and folding his arms. “You could have just given me the directions on how to get there. I could have been there hours ago.”

“I want to make sure you arrive.”

The speedster frowned at this but didn’t look at his companion. “You don’t trust me?”

“Well, you did frame your own friend.”

“Hey, Daniels was _never_ my friend!” Pietro argued, his voice defensive, now openly narrowing his eyes at the man. “He was my teammate! That’s not the same as a friend! Besides, he got what was comin’ to him!”

“You are playing with fire, Pietro,” the man stated, his voice dark. “I suggest you hold your tongue.”

At the sound of his name, Pietro visibly froze up before looking away, saying nothing more as he glared down at his feet.

After several long minutes, the car finally came to a stop and Pietro looked out the window eagerly, even pressing his hands up against the glass, his nose touching it slightly.

Before him was a large, old, Victorian-type house. It didn’t look particularly grand or welcoming, but it didn’t look like any kind of prison…or an asylum.

Pietro suppressed a familiar shiver at the thought before glancing back at the man. “What’re we doin’ here, huh?”

“This will be your new home.”

Pietro blinked at him before giving a scoff. “Yeah. Right. _Home._ Like that’s ever meant anything to me.” Then, after a light pause, he added with a pinch of venom in his voice, “ _You_ know that.”

The man stiffened before saying, “Your foster parents have been informed about this new development in your life and have willingly complied.”

“Tch. How badly did they want to get rid of me?”

The man said nothing, but his eyes darkened more.

“Whatever,” the speedster snapped as he opened the car door. “I’ll just go in.” He pushed himself out of the car and turned around to shut the door. Just before he did, he stared directly at the other passenger who had still not faced him.

“See ya, father,” Pietro said before shutting the door and rushing up to the house.

 ***

“Yo, man, I jus’ wanna get some sleep,” Todd groaned as he laid sprawled out on the couch, hugging a pillow against the side of his face.

“Not yet, Toad!” Fred said, tossing a pillow at his head.

“Oww! What the—”

“We all promised we’d stay up until the new recruit gets here,” Lance said as he flipped through the channels on the TV. “I’m not gonna get woken up for that.”

“Can’t I jus’ say I was lyin’ an’ go tah bed?”

“No,” the two other mutants answered simultaneously.

Todd just buried his face back in the pillow, groaning.

Driving home that day for the boys had been slightly awkward considering their discussion with Mystique, but as teens tend to do, Lance’s earlier outburst was soon forgotten and things were back to normal by the time they got home.

Suddenly, there was a rather persistent knocking at the door. The three exchanged a few similar looks before Lance got up and went to the front, opening the door to see—

“Hi there!” a young man greeted him, but strangely, Lance didn’t get a good look at the guy because in a flash, he was…gone.

Lance blinked at the space where the teen had been before he heard the new voice in the other room, immediately heading back in there.

“Hi, the name’s Pietro! If any of you have a problem with the way I talk, look, act, _whatever_ , speak now or forever hold your peace!”

The three housemates stared at the white-haired teen, who was standing in the middle of their living room, his icy blue eyes darting back and forth between them, as if he was just waiting for one of them to make a comment.

“So…yer our other teammate?” Todd finally asked after a long moment of silence.

“Teammate? Uh, yeah…teammate! Yep, that’s me! Reporting for duty!”

“Really?” Lance asked suspiciously, folding his arms.

Pietro suddenly zoomed up in front of him, making him flinch in surprise. “Yes, _really_. And who are you three, anyways?”

“The name’s Lance,” the brunette shot back, slightly glaring at the other boy.

“Lance?” Pietro echoed, scrunching up his nose. “Talk about lame!”

“How’s ‘Pietro’ any better? That doesn’t even sound like English!”

“’Cause it’s not, doofus,” the mutant replied with a sneer.

Sensing a fight was about to break out, Todd threw himself in-between the two and held out a hand for Pietro to shake. “Ya can call me Toad, dawg,” he said with a friendly grin.

Pietro blinked before politely shaking his hand, noticing only briefly how sweaty it felt (he would later realize that it was actually slime). Then, he snarked, “Toad? What kind of name is that?”

“His real name is Todd,” Lance stated. “That’s just his codename. Don’t _you_ have one?”

“Course I do! It’s Quicksilver!”

“Why are you called that?” Freddy asked, finally making himself known.

Suddenly, Pietro was right in front of him, standing on his tippy-toes so he was at a better eye-level with the large teen.

“Why do you think?” Pietro asked, his blue eyes boring into Fred’s brown ones.

There was something…unnerving about the way the other spoke and stared at him. Fred felt tiny little chills run up the back of his spine and took half a step back from Pietro.

“Hey, back offa him,” Lance said, coming a little closer.

Pietro turned around to face him. “And just what are _you_ going to do if I _don’t,_ hotshot?”

One of the corners of Lance’s mouth curved up slightly. “Allow me to demonstrate.” He put his hands out and the house began to shake like mad.

The ground beneath them heaved, almost like waves on the ocean floor. High above, bits of ceiling such as plaster and wood began to fall. The doors on the cabinets all around the house flew open and shut from the strong movement, the house then giving a loud groan from the tremendous pressure.

Pietro struggled to stay on his feet, the ground underneath him making it hard to stay upright. Even if he tried to run, he knew he would slip and be in a great deal of pain. “Agh! Okay, okay! Stop!”

Surprisingly, Lance obeyed and the house reverted back to its normal state.

“S-so…” Pietro stammered out as he regained his balance. “…you don’t like to play around, do you?”

Lance gave a light chuckle as he rubbed his right temple. “I’ve been told I’ve got a bit of a temper.”

“A bit?” Todd asked with a smug grin, earning him a slight, short-lived glare from Lance.

“I can tell,” Pietro replied to the rock-tumbler. “What do you call yourself?”

“Avalanche.”

“Hmm, I like it. Not overdramatic, but not too boring.”

Lance rolled his eyes. At least this guy wasn’t stupid enough to insult him after seeing what he could do. “Thanks.”

“So,” Pietro said, turning back to Fred. “What about you?”

“What about me what?”

Pietro made an annoyed face, but managed to keep himself in check. Yeah, he definitely wasn’t willing to risk another presentation from Mr. Richter Scale over there. “What can you _do_?”

“I’m the Blob,” the blond said proudly. “I’m really strong and I can make myself immovable.”

Pietro looked slightly surprised and gave an understanding nod. Simple, but useful. “Interesting,” he said before looking back at Todd who was staring intently at a fly that was buzzing around him. “Toad, right? What can you—eww…” Pietro groaned in disgust as Todd’s long, green tongue shot out and attached itself to the fly before bringing it back into his mouth and swallowing it.

“Heh, sorry,” Todd said, scratching the back of his neck. “Yer gonna have tah get used tah that.”

“Yep, ‘cause he’s the Toad,” Fred said with a chuckle.

“Yeah. Green, slimy, and gross,” Lance said, messing Todd’s hair up.

“Hey, get off!” Todd yelled, trying to bat his hand away.

A smile quirked at the side of Pietro’s lips. “So,” he said as he took a seat on the couch, making himself at home. “What’s the plan?”

“What do you mean?” Freddy asked.

“This whole ‘team’ thing; how are we going to go about it?”

“We don’ know, yo,” Todd said, hopping onto the arm of the couch and squatting there. “Boss-lady said she’ll tell us.”

“Who?” Pietro asked.

“Mystique,” Lance answered. “Don’t you know her? Didn’t she bring you?”

Pietro didn’t like admitting when he didn’t know things (especially in front of strangers), but he knew he couldn’t lie his way out of this. “No. Who is she?”

“She can be anybody,” Fred said, his voice a little shaky.

“She can basically shift into whatever she wants; people, animals, all kinds of stuff!” Lance explained further.

“And even worse, she’s the principal of our high school,” Todd said as he flopped down on the couch.

So _that's_  where he was going to go. "How bad is she?"

"Think of the scariest person you know," Lance said.

Heh, that was easy. "Okay."

"Make that person ten times more threatening and scary. That's how bad she is."

"Trust us, man. Ya don' wanna mess wit' her ‘cause she’s the one in charge here," Todd said, his voice serious.

"Hmm..." Pietro hummed thoughtfully as he mused over the fact that these guys probably didn't know about Magneto yet. This chick was probably just a subordinate of his. He quickly deduced he'd better not say anything about Magneto unless he was brought up by the lady or the man told him it was alright to speak about him freely. He'd have to wait until he received any kind of orders...even though he _hated_  waiting...

"She sounds pretty bad when you put it like that," Pietro commented after a while. "What does she want us to do?"

The three shrugged, all murmuring how she hadn't said a word about her plans.

A pregnant pause took lay amongst them before the speedster asked, "Got any tunes?"


	4. Chapter 4

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The boys begin to bond, NightCrawler gets vaporized off-screen, and where the heck is Pietro?

Pietro had never been the biggest fan of school. He hated having to sit and listen to a teacher go on and on for hours, stay in one place for such a long amount of time when he could be doing something much more productive, deal with people he couldn’t stand, having to follow a stupid schedule instead of being spontaneous, etc.

He silently wished to himself that the day would go by quickly and be over with and soon he would be back at the Boarding House and be able to do whatever he wanted and be away from all these ignorant humans and all the stupid looks on their faces and—

“Pietro? You okay? You look a little lost.”

The speedster turned around to see Freddy fixing him with a concerned look. Pietro quickly gathered he had been trying to find his stupid class before he’d gotten lost in his silent rant and had been standing in the middle of the hallway for at least a whole minute.

“Oh, yeah,” Pietro said, his lip curling a bit in disgust as he glanced down at his paper. “I’ve looked all over and I can’t find this room.”

Fred stole a quick glance before saying, “Oh, that’s the one they just remodeled. I couldn’t find it either my first day. I guess they just forgot to change the room number on the schedule.”

“Figures,” Pietro replied. “So where is it?”

“Well, it’s all the way on the other side of the school, over by the football field, right before you head outside.” Fred glanced at the paper again before grimacing. “Eh, but if you’re class starts at 10:20, you’ll probably never make—”

Fred was cut off by a sudden rush of air and found himself alone in the hallway.

“Oh…right. Super speed.”

Feeling annoyed at his slow mind once again, Fred trudged off to his own class that was starting in five minutes.

 ***

Ever since his incident in the lunchroom about a week ago, Principal Darkholme had warned Fred that if he needed to eat lunch, it would be best if he did so outside. Luckily, there were plenty of seats outdoors, complete with a small court for basketball or soccer.

Fred had only eaten two sloppy joes, a basket of fries, four chocolate chip cookies, and a bag of popcorn. A light lunch. He could feel his stomach already rumbling again as he wandered over to the edge of the small courtyard. He found a relaxed position against the fence, idly watching the bustle and activities of other students around him.

“Hey, Dukes.” Fred glanced up to see Pietro lean against the fence beside him. “How’s it hangin’?” the speedster asked casually.

“Fine, I guess,” Fred replied. “Just kind of a borin’ day…”

“I feel it,” the speedster said, idly picking at his fingernails. “Everybody is my class kept going on about Duncan Matthews and his stupid party.”

Fred narrowed his eyes at the name. He still hadn’t forgiven that guy for picking on him during his first day. “I wouldn’t go to his party if somebody paid me.”

“Right?” Pietro agreed, making Fred a little surprised. “It’s like, it’s bad enough I have to see these people at school all day, but then go hang out with them at some dumb party later hosted by some idiot whose name sounds like it should be representing donuts?” He gave a light scoff. “I don’t _think_ so.”

Fred couldn’t help the snort that escaped him. “You said it, man.”

In front of them, a few students (some Freddy had seen before, but never talked to) were playing soccer in front of them, laughing and kicking it back and forth.

“Wanna play?” he asked Pietro.

“Mm…no. I’m too good for them.”

“…gotcha,” Fred replied, not really understanding what the speedster was talking about, but decided not to filibuster.

Suddenly, one of the boys kicked the ball hard and it flew toward the fence, coming right for Fred’s face. In an instant, it stopped, a pale hand now holding it directly in his face before bringing it away. Fred watched Pietro roll it in his hands experimentally until one of the students shouted, “Yo, dude! Ball?”

The speedster glanced back at them before calling out, “You want this? Come and get it.”

The boys all looked at each other in confusion as Fred saw a small smirk move across Pietro’s mouth. Two of the boys moved over to where the two mutants stood, the boy with dusty brown hair holding out his hand. “Right here, man.”

“Oh, you mean right here?”

Within a second, Pietro had angled the soccer ball to smack hard into the boys’ face before rebounding back into his own hands.

“Aww—shit!” the boy swore as he held his face, trying to dispel the pain.

His friend beside him, face painted with shock that quickly morphed into anger as his eyes quickly darted to Pietro, exclaiming, “What the hell, freak?!”

“What’s the matter, boys? Can’t handle a little hardball?” Pietro retorted smoothly, spinning the soccer ball on two fingers with ease.

Fred watched the scene with quiet fascination before giving a snort. “Yeah, it’s just a little soccer ball—can’t hurt _that_ bad.”

The boy glared now at him, opening his mouth to reply only to have his face punted by the soccer ball, similar to his friend. “Agh!” he shrieked, hands flying to his face.

“Aww, now you two match!” Pietro taunted. “Twinsies!”

“Man, you guys suck,” one of the other boys joined the scene, glancing at his two friends who nobody would think had been harmed except for the constant rubbing against their foreheads and chins.

“And you swallow,” Pietro replied without hesitation, still smirking.

The boy rolled his eyes as their final friend joined the scene, the four boys now encircling the two of them. “Y’know, if you didn’t act like such an asshole, you might actually have some friends. Unless you’re too ‘cool’ for that, Maximoff.”

“Did it ever occur to you that maybe I just don’t want to be friends with you people? Maybe I have dozens of friends that you’ve never met. Ever think of that? No, probably not. Anyways,” he continued, throwing the soccer ball directly into the last boy’s chest, awarding him an ‘oof’ sound when the guy managed to catch it, “I think I’m bored now. Come on, Dukes. Let’s go find somewhere better to spend our time.”

Fred was a bit surprised at Pietro’s inclusion of him but smiled a little as he followed Pietro through the small crowd of boys.

“Jerk-offs!” the heard a shout as the soccer ball flew at them, only to miss and land near their feet.

Pietro gave a chortle. “Idiots…”

Fred merely continued to walk with him, briefly wondering if Pietro could be considered…what was that big word again? Oh, yeah.

A sociopath.

 ***

“Hey, Lance, you smoke?” Todd asked as the two stood up against the school building.

Lance was busy trying to get his lighter to work and glanced over at the other mutant. “Yeah. You got a problem with that?”

Todd gave a shrug. “I ain’t nevah done it.”

The other raised an eyebrow and fished out an extra cigarette from his back pocket. “Here,” he said, holding it out to him.

The toad-like mutant blinked at the object before hesitantly taking it and examining it curiously. “What’s it taste like?”

“Try it and find out,” Lance said as his lighter flicked on and he lit his own cigarette before holding the lighter out to Todd.

The younger of the two looked unsure for a moment before putting the cigarette in his mouth and touching the end against the fire, sucking a little against the end in his mouth as he’d seen other smokers do. Within a few seconds, it was lit and Todd felt some smoke enter his mouth.

Then, he began to cough and splutter as he removed the cigarette. “Ugh! Oh, jeez…”

Lance gave a little chuckle as he blew a bit out. “Alright, now I believe you’ve never done this before.”

“Ya didn’t—” Todd broke off into a series of coughs. “—ya didn’t believe me before?”

Lance gave a shrug, taking in another puff of smoke.

A bit reluctantly, Todd glanced at the cigarette and took another inhale, only to cough it out again, just as painfully as the last time.

“Don’t inhale so much,” Lance advised. “Just take in a little bit. You get used to it after a while.”

Todd did as Lance said, only bringing a little into his mouth, holding it in for a few seconds, and then blowing it out.

“There you go,” Lance encouraged him, tapping against his cigarette to allow the ashes to fall.

Giving a last little cough, Todd tried to copy Lance’s actions with his own. “Thanks,” he said, his voice raspy. Feeling a little bit sick, he held the cigarette out to the other teen. “Look, I’m gonna go get some lunch. You want this?”

“Nah, just burn it out against the building,” Lance said as he leaned back against the wall.

Todd did so, watching as it compressed and burned away, falling to the ground. He stepped on it a little, making sure it went out before feeling his stomach growl.

“See ya later, dawg. I’m gonna find somethin’ tah munch on.”

“Can’t take the cafeteria food anymore?”

“Blegh. Jus’ you wait. Soon, you’ll be eatin’ bugs like me.”

Lance gave a snort. “Hey, it’s not that bad. You’re just weird.”

“I’m tellin’ ya, man,” Todd insisted before hopping off to the front of the school, hoping there were some big, juicy crawlers in the school’s parking lot.

 ***

“Man, can you believe those losers?” Lance asked Fred as the two headed down the hallway and out the doors of the school.

“Yeah! Trying to pick a fight with us when we didn’t do nothin’!” Fred agreed.

“Hope our _gracious_ principal gives them an earful,” the rock-tumbler stated. “Those x-freaks deserve it.”

“Definitely. Thinkin’ we’re the ones causin’ trouble around here…” Fred said as the two headed outside.

“Pietro was right about that Summers guy,” Lance said. “Acts like he’s all official or something…and his girlfriend’s even worse! I told you what she did when I tried to get Kitty on my side, right?”

“Yeah…” Fred said, his tone noticeably quieter.

Lance glanced over at the teen as they walked before stopping briefly. “What?”

“Oh, nothin’,” Fred insisted with a wave of his hand. “I was just thinkin’, that’s all.”

The brunette raised an eyebrow. “What? Do you like her or something?”

“No!” Fred immediately denied. “Why would I like Miss Perfect?!”

“No reason!” Lance replied, holding his hands up in front of him. “Just thought I’d ask, geez…”

Fred softened a bit before glancing off to the side. “Uh, sorry…look, I actually kinda knew Jean. Y’know, before I joined you guys.”

Lance blinked in surprise. “Really? How?”

“Well, on my first day here, I didn’t really know what to do or where to go and she helped me. Then, when I got angry later in the lunchroom, she calmed me down. Didn’t look at me like I was a freak or anything, y’know? Then, when I found out she was like me, it was like everything just—”

“Fell into place,” Lance mumbled, lost in his own thoughts.

“What?”

The teen glanced up and shook his head. “Nothing. You were saying?”

“Oh, well…I tried to get her to like me more, hang out with me…but she didn’t like me like that. I mean…I guess I did go a little crazy…but I’d never had a girl…had _anybody_ be so nice to me. I went too far and now she really hates me.”

Lance was quiet for a moment before asking, “Do you still like her?”

Fred shook his head, a bit hesitantly. “I don’t think so. I mean, I’ve got real friends now, right? Not any of that pity stuff.”

Lance blinked a little before quirking a small smile. “Yeah. You do, man.”

“Guys, guys! Yo!”

The two turned around to see Todd hopping over to them, strangely wearing his costume that Mystique had given him.

“Dude, what are you doing?” Lance hissed, quickly grabbing him and pulling him into the shadows of the trees. “Someone could see you hopping around in that!”

“I know, I know, but if you guys were wit’ me, you’d know why I’m in this!” Todd exclaimed, his eyes wide and red.

“Okay…” Lance said, looking a little weirded out. “Then, what’s going on?”

“Okay, so ‘member when I said I was gonna go get me some lunch? Well, I tried, but I saw boss-lady an’ she yelled at me an’ I was like, ‘Ngehh, I hate chu!’ So, then, I bumped intah Rogue an’ she was like, ‘Ah just got rid of one of dem x-freaks!’ An’ I was like, ‘Say what…?’ So, I saw dis weird, little contraption thingamajig that she was tryin’ tah hide an’ guess what? It makes stuff literally disappear! Like, without a trace! So, I took it an’ went upstairs an’ started makin’ all Darkholme’s stuff disappear, but then she came in, so I hopped outta dodge, but then the x-geeks was chasin’ me! So, I made a break fo’ it, but they got me! Then, Rogue actually _saved_ me befo’ tellin’ ‘em she was the one that got rid of that fuzzy dude!”

By the time Todd was done, he was panting like mad, trying to get a hold of himself.

“So…what now?” Lance asked, cocking his head to the side.

“Ugh!” Todd groaned, his face falling into his hands. “Look, didn’t you say ya wanted tah get back at the x-geeks?”

“Sure,” Lance answered suspiciously. “But what’s all this about Rogue?”

“She told the truth!” Todd exclaimed. “Those freaks was gonna bash mah skull in, but she stuck up fo’ me!”

“Rogue?” Lance asked, his eyes widening in shock. “Scary, goth, ‘I-hate-everything-around-me’ Rogue?”

“The very same.”

“I don’t believe it,” Freddy said, folding his arms.

“But she did!” Todd insisted. “She’s the one that got rid of NightCreeper!”

“Wait, who’s that again?” Freddy asked.

“The blue guy, I think. That’s who Summers and Grey were askin’ us about before,” Lance reminded him before glancing back at Todd. “But how?”

“Like I said,” Todd groaned, obviously annoyed at having to repeat his story. “She found this weird device thingy an’ zapped ‘im outta existence!”

“That’s crazy,” Lance snorted.

“It’s real, yo,” Todd said. “I used it myself—wit’ mah own two hands. Check out our boss’ office; she’s gonna have tah do some new decoratin’.”

Lance and Fred exchanged a similar glance.

“Look, bottom line is, she admitted what she did tah ‘im jus’ so they wouldn’t skin me alive afta’ they caught me wit’ that thing.”

“It’s hard to believe,” Lance began, “But I don’t think he’s smart enough to make up a story like this.”

“Right,” Fred agreed. “Even Toad’s not that creative or nuts.”

“Can ya not talk tah each other like I ain’t here?” Todd remarked, looking irked.

The two turned back to him as Fred asked, “Where are they now?”

“In the school’s basement.”

“Then, I suppose that’s where you three are going.”

The boys whirled around to see Principal Darkholme glaring at them over her spectacles. Was that woman even capable of cracking a real smile?

“Oh, uhh…hey, ma’am,” Todd greeted her, clearing looking uncomfortable.

“If what you say is true, Toad, you three need to get down there and find her. She’s in danger if she’s with them.”

“But what’re we supposed to do?” Lance asked, looking confused.

“Fight them if you have to,” she replied, folding her arms. “Make sure Rogue is safe and get your hand on that—umm—what was it, Mr. Tolanski?”

“Kinda some sort of ‘vape-ray’ thing, I guess.”

“Yes, that. Whatever that thing is, it should be in my possession.”

Lance exchanged a glance with the other two before looking back at Mystique. “Why do you want—”

“What have I told you before, Mr. Alvers? You are in no place to ask questions. Not unless you wish to return to the streets and have the foster care system on your back again.”

Lance winced before looking away. “Then…I guess let’s head on down to the basement,” he stated after a few moments.

“Yeah, we’ll show ‘em,” Todd claimed, looking revved up to fight.

“Let’s hit it,” Fred agreed, following the two boys as they turned around.

“Wait a minute,” Mystique ordered.

“Aw, what now?” Todd whined.

Mystique made a face at the teen. “I’d better not hear any lip out of _you_ , Mr. Tolanski. You’re already in enough hot water.”

“For wha…oh,” Todd murmured, glancing down at his shoes.

She rolled her eyes before addressing the other two. “Despite his childish behavior, Mr. Tolanski is the only one dressed accordingly. For battle, you all must wear your new uniforms.”

“Uniforms? Wait…you were serious about that?” Lance asked.

Not only a couple days ago, Mystique had left himself and Fred some strange-looking outfits to wear in their respective rooms. The only indication of what they were was a little note attached to each, explaining that they were to be used for battle. Apparently, she’d lectured Toad before she’d sent him to the manor a week ago to check in on things, that he needed to wear it anytime he was on a mission of some sort.

Clearly, deciding to mess with their “boss” was his idea of a mission.

“Quite serious,” Mystique stated. “I want you three to fight with some sort of dignity.” She gave a scoff. “If you have any left that is.”

Lance bit the inside of his lip to keep from making another comment as Freddy pointed out, “But we don’t have them with us.”

“Not to worry. I’m sure Toad knows where I had Quicksilver store them,” she said, sending a look towards the teen, who still hadn’t met her gaze, before straightening up to look official. “Now, go get changed and get to that basement.”

“Yes, ma’am,” Lance muttered as he turned, putting a hand behind each of the boys backs to urge them forward. Once they’d walked enough, he asked, “So, where are they, Toad?”

“She’s got a secret drawer in the waitin’ room near her office. That’s how I found mine before I started messin’ wit’ her stuff.”

“Then, let’s hurry before she blows a gasket or somethin’,” Lance said.

 ***

“Why does mine come with a fruit bowl?” Lance commented, knocking his knuckles against the accessory on his head.

“I think it’s supposed tah be a helmet, yo,” Todd said, hopping along in front of ‘em. “Can’t you two go any faster? We’re burnin’ daylight here!”

“You sound like Pietro, Toad,” Fred said, adjusted his jacket.

“Look, I jus’ don’ wanna get yelled out by the crazy lady fo’ not even botherin’ tah show up to fight,” Todd said. “I’m already on her bad side.”

“I don’t really think it makes a whole lotta sense to wear these things…” Fred mumbled, seemingly not paying attention to Todd’s statement. “What if humans see us?”

“…we could always say it’s our exercise gear,” Lance suggested.

“…yeah, they’re stupid enough tah believe anything,” Todd agreed. “Let’s get ‘em on and find those X-geeks.” He suddenly paused in mid-hop, lightly thumping back to the ground. “Wait, do ya think we should go find Speedy Gonzales?”

“I think we can handle this on our own,” Lance replied. “He’ll probably make the whole thing take longer, ironically.”

“He kinda freaks me out,” Fred stated, thinking back to his earlier thoughts on the speedster.

“Me too, big guy,” Lance agreed. “’Sides, knowing him, he’s probably ‘too busy’ to do anything useful.”

**Author's Note:**

> This is a story I started back on fanfiction a few years ago, but due to the pressures of college, I was forced to abandon it for a time. Not it's back and hopefully I can work my way through finishing it. 
> 
> The Brotherhood from Evolution is my absolute favorite incarnation of the team. Not only are they morally grey rather than evil, but due to their ages, they at times have a more sympathetic feel to them. While they so cause trouble, much of it can be them acting out as most teenagers do. They are given no direction, they don't really have much in the way of parents, no sort of efficient training for their powers, etc.
> 
> This story is the Brotherhood's story. How they all met, what they were doing in the background of the X-Men's journey, hidden moments--all of that. I will try my best to fill in the missing blanks.
> 
> I hope you enjoyed this beginning and I hope to see you along for the rest of this ride!


End file.
